A review by duckoffimreading
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

5.0

HOLY SHIT THIS IS GOOD. I was skeptical when I saw this one recommended, even reading the summary doesn't do justice to how good this book is. Mystery/coming of age/noir novel with tragedy striking the extremely well developed characters over and over again. And yes, I FUGLY cried at the end of this one. Equal parts character and plot driven and my sweet spot for a book. Duchess Day Radley, the self proclaimed 13-year outlaw, is star of the show and all piss and vinegar (I love her!). Her intense trauma is met with a bite has hard as her bark but you also deeply empathize with her and I laughed out loud more than once at her hijinks. Her little brother Robin is her world, and the sacrifice she makes for him is unimaginable but also incredible love. In fact, you don't know it at first, but love is the motive for so much of the plot. All of the characters carry so much complexity and layers, so much to unpack: “None of us are any one thing. We’re just a collection of the best and worst things we’ve done.” SO MUCH happens in this book and no way could I have predicted the outcome. Murders, domestic & substance abuse, foster care, crazy love triangles, prison, poverty, kids raising kids - so fast paced I found myself going back and rereading sections to make sure I caught on the details. I don't usually read books more than once in my lifetime, but this is one that I would make a happy exception for. If this is on your TBR, push it to the top!